As has been the case since she wrote her book but even before it was published by ourselves at FARAXA earlier this year, Sheryl Loeffler‘s A Land in the Storytelling Sea: A North American in Maltahas just earned another public compelling review. Featured four days ago on The Book Reporter by Pauline Finch, Sheryl’s book is this time described as “an exquisitely crafted collection of images, poetry, reflections, anecdotes and delightful miscellaneous observations that magically transform the reader into a participant, even a fellow traveler.”

Read more here, therefore, about what people and journalists across the globe are saying about Sheryl’s book, our first poetry publication. A Land in the Storytelling Seais available in both paperback and ebook editions from all major booksellers and directly from our eStore.

Larisa Dmitrieva, Ph.D., is our new Russian language translator at FARAXA Publishing. Originally from Krasnoyarsk, Russia, Larisa double graduated in 2006 as a translator and interpreter from Krasnoyarsk State University and as a teacher from the State Pedagogical University. She then continued her studies at the Lomonosov Moscow State University from where, last year, she obtained her doctorate with the dissertation Lingvosemiotic theories of Rene de Saussure as a stage of structuralism formation. Larisa has lectured in linguistics and taught English and Latin at the Lomonosov State University in Moscow. She has also taught English and French at the Academy of Foreign Languages, Moscow, and worked as a translator and teacher of English at the Consulate of Denmark. For the past seven years, she has been a lecturer in linguistics and teacher of English, French, Latin and Turkish at the Leo Tolstoy Institute of Language and Culture.

Fluent in the English, Esperanto, French, Latin, Russian and Turkish languages, Larisa has published articles in Russian, English and Esperanto in 20 peer-reviewed journals in Russia, participating also in more than 20 conferences. Last month she participated in the international conference Dialogue of cultures: Problems and prospects of modern intercultural communication. Russian is a language of friendship and collaboration (Leo Tolstoy Institute, Moscow House of Nationalities, Moscow, 2014), with her presentation titled The origin of the Russian language and its role in Malta.

FARAXA Publishing has the pleasure of announcing the Russian language ebook edition and Maltese language ebook edition of the nonfiction book for young children I Am Mariah by Doris Schembri. Titled Я – Мэрайяand Jisimni Mariahrespectively, the book presents readers with the opportunity of interacting with Mariah through activities which can be used both for cross-curricular activities and to help children learn more about themselves. The Russian language edition of I Am Mariah was translated by Larisa Dmitrieva.

The ebook editions of Я – Мэрайяand Jisimni Mariahavailable for sale from Smashwords, while the paperback edition of Jisimni Mariah is available from Amazon and directly from our eStore. A Russian language paperback edition is also forthcoming.

Here is our Summer 2014 catalog. In it you can find all the books published to date in their respective editions, languages of publication and availability. Please do not hesitate to download the FARAXA Publishing Catalog Summer 2014 should you be interested. We welcome general and rights inquiries about our books, both locally and internationally.

Presently, Amazon is holding a sale on the Kindle edition of our photo book I Am Mariah by Doris Schembri. This book can be used both for cross-curricular activities and to help children learn more about themselves. For a limited time period, you can now obtain the ebook of I Am Mariah for only $3.49 (List Price $9.49).

FARAXA Publishing has the pleasure of announce the release of the ebook edition of the scholarly work Glossarju: Germaniz-Malti / Malti-Germanizby Ritianne Stanyer, Toni Aquilina (Ed.), Alfred Scalpello. Previously available only in paperback edition, this German-Maltese-German glossary was scientifically compiled, making it an indispensable tool for anyone desiring to learn the German language and/or visit a German-speaking country. It is the first of its kind in the history of the teaching of German in Malta and is aimed specifically at the needs of the Maltese public.

Presently, Amazon is holding a sale on the Kindle edition of our award-winning book The Adventures of Joe Fenek by Graham Bayes. This book has proved very popular with young children. It was awarded an honorable mention in last year’s London Book Festival and is the third in the FARAXA Children’s Series. For a limited time period, you can now obtain the ebook of The Adventures of Joe Fenek for only $3.99 (List Price $12.00).

Sheryl Loeffler’s ear and eye for images, words, rhythms and cadence of language are vividly evident in her new book A Land in the Storytelling Sea. The vibrant imagery of language and the vivid hues of pictures come together into an experience that brings the Mediterranean islands of Malta to throbbing life. Her poetry and photographs cause this storied land to come alive for the reader who has not been there. As such, she is engaging the profane and the spiritual in ways that give the viewer and reader a sense of the Infinite amidst daily experience. The crusty beggar demanding food for his feral cat, the cathedral bells calling to whatever, the red hibiscus, the mosquito bite, and the internet café, distill into the mystery of something more profound.

Wallace Stevens, the American poet says that, “…one’s consciousness and expression through language are spiritual acts and … that poetry replaces belief in the absolute…. The imagination is what we have in the absence of God…”

Sheryl Loeffler through imagination takes the commonplace of a unhinged window, an abandoned boat, the poetic image of the rent collector or a poem about the City Walls and makes it all a sacred journey through the life she encounters every day. Her poems sing with all the cadence of inspired choral music; her narrative leads us through twenty-four hours of flight to and around the islands of Malta on an evocative journey of discovery, even revelation. Her pictures are filled with the bright hues of blues, yellows, greens, reds and blacks of this ancient island of empires and religions. We travel the journey – not quite an interloper, more an unknown confidant – hearing, seeing, singing and praying to Mary, Alla, Jesus, and the mythology of antiquity, woven by mystery, imagination and skill into a vibrant canvas of life.

Sheryl Loeffler’s first book, intertwining the music of poetry and the imagery of photography, is a marvelous start to what I hope will be the first of many.